The city of pot and porn

I have so much excitement for Amsterdam! Not for either of the reasons in the title of this post but because it will be my 8th country thus year! It's not 10 but it's close and u may slip in one or two more :)

Anyway I am so excited number one to just get away, have fun with a friend, and to see a new place.

Also the fact that the res light district is so massive there I am curious to see it because in a few years trafficking grill be illegal so it will be cool to say that I saw it before hand. It may sound ridiculous to some but I completely believe that. Human trafficking is absolutely horrific and the fact that some pimps get away with displaying girls in store windows makes me want to vomit. I will see an end to trafficking in my life time and I can't wait to see that day.

On another note I am excites to see Amsterdam itself. From what I have rad and heard its a beautiful city with so much to see.

Stories and pictures COMING SOON!

Wow

So last night I had the privilege of attending the last of the 5 fundraising dinners that Christians Against Poverty hosted. Fair enough it was for work but still I felt so privileged to be there. It was amazing to see how generous people were.

We raised £237,000 in one night and in total over the past year a total of £898,000 that is absolutely ridiculous!

I still can't believe I work at such an incredible place. Not only does it help people get out of debt, peoples lives are changed for eternity. We see people start a new life with God and see transformations on a daily basis.

I simply love my job.

One moment is all it takes

When I get stressed or overwhelmed, which seems to happen a fair amount these days. It amazes me how long I take to remember to trust in what God is doing. In one moment I can go from insanely bazerk to remarkably calm.

So yet again note to self God is bigger - he literally knows everything

What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. (Matthew 10:29 NLT)

Now!

I am so restless I want to see more of the world now!!

Somewhere hot

Somewhere new

Somewhere exciting

One moment is all it takes

When I get stressed or overwhelmed, which seems to happen a fair amount these days. It amazes me how long I take to remember to trust in what God is doing. In one moment I can go from insanely bazerk to remarkably calm.

So yet again note to self God is bigger - he literally knows everything

What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. (Matthew 10:29 NLT)

His L.O.V.E.

No matter how many times I think about it God's love never seems to get any less extraordinary. His love covers all, defeats all, and can never be measured or compared to anything in the universe.

An absolutely amazing man of God wrote a song that is on my top favourite songs of all time that should be the cry of every person's heart

I need your love
I need you love
More than anything
You are my everything
Father

His love is so incredible and whether I I am having the best day or worst day of my life his live is still the same.

It is flipping AMAZING!

Moving up on the list

So my blogging has been extremely neglected but now that I have a new phone it shall be of more importance.

Here is a picture for you to enjoy

LSHMSFOAIDMT

Brilliant

run the race

I have heard numerous times life compared to running a race. This has had me thinking over the past little while. When I think of a race I think of elementary school track meets. It was one of the best days of the year because you got to skip a day of school to be a kid and literally run in circles...well ovals. Then I think of marathons, which shockingly enough comes up a lot in my life with a insanely determined boss who is running 15 marathons in 17 days.  That on the other hand does not seem like as much fun. Then there are those moments when it may be a short race but can feel like hours, when you see a friend you haven't seen in a long time and you run to embrace and things move in sow motion and there is sappy music in the background. well maybe not the end bits but you get the picture. There are so many types of races yet society seems to put it into one mod. School - Career - Family - Retire - DIE. My example may not be completely accurate but generally it is along those lines and that then equals a successful life. 

Now why this analogy of races and deep meaningful life situations well it really roots from one thing. The wonderful addicting world of facebook. It give millions of people access to see where your race or in my opinion races have taken you. Are you still the same person you were in high school? Are you in a successful career? are you getting married? having children? travelling the world? there are so many options but it can be so interesting to see where people are. At the same time it can be hard not to compare and have the big 

WHAT IF?

what if I had made this decision, what if I had done this instead of that. They are all logical questions but simply ridiculous. Your life is the way it is, if you are not happy with where you are at you can make decisions to change your circumstances. Don't et your circumstances change you. Know that you never have to be content or stuck and you don't have to be anyone you don't want to be. Now this rant is as much to myself as it is to anyone else but it is so important that we as people chose what race to run and when it is ok to sit and be happy with where we are at and enjoy the scenery. 

I think I am going to go to an airport and buy a ticket for the next available flight.

just for the sake of adventure

just go

just have fun and be spontaneous

just live

now what

Those moments when I stop and think

now what?

they have been coming up a lot recently. Now I am not saying that I'm not happy with where I am but I am starting t think about whats next. I absolutely love my job and al that I get to do with life her in england but if something more permanent in the job front doesn't come up then I will have no way of staying in England even if I wanted to

sooooo

the leads me towards planning plan b...Do I go back to the homeland? or somewhere new? somewhere new has WAY more appeal at the moment but that means more planning and figuring things out. Where am I gonna live? where am I going to work? do they have tea?

I suppose I dont need an answer right this very second but this first year has come and gone and with only 10 short months left I need to at least have an idea of whats next.

What ever happens next I am sure it will bee awesome I am just SO curious as to what I will do

6 down 4 to go

So my goal of 10 countries this year is well on its way

I have been to 6 countries and I am hoping I will stay on track and hit my goal

1. England

2. Canada

3. USA

4. Scotland

5. Switzerland

6. Germany

the other places I am hoping to visit soon are

France

Spain

Italy

Austria

Greece

Czech Republic

Poland

and others but these are the main ones.

I want to see the world!!

more

ex·pect·an·cy/ikˈspektənsē/

Noun: The state of thinking or hoping that something, esp. something pleasant, will happen or be the case

When you ask a little kid what they want to be when they grow up it is generally not a cashier at wal-mart or a janitor they have these massive dreams of what their life is going to be.

They are going to be a race car driver, a famous athlete, a singing super star (which I will be one day and I will travel the world as t-dog, the whitest inside out oreo that roamed the earth)

What has changed. loads of people will say reality...they wont admit that they just got so discouraged they gave up on incredible and settled for ok. The hard truth is so many people have. I myself do not want to be known as someone who setted. I know that I am living my life dreams and I am 20! I am travelling the world working at a christian charity and working with youth and working with organizations helping girls being trafficked AND still able to

have a social life. Yes I also wonder sometimes if my super powers can give me the ability to read minds or fly but number one I am scared of heights so I am going to pass on that and reading minds is a little creepy so I will go on just wondering and never knowing the truth about my powers.

One thing I am certain of is I am so expectant of what my life is going to be like. A lady at my church turned 100 this week. Her life has been absolutely extraordinary she has experienced and seen things that I am sure people 60 70 years ago said was impossible but yet she has still done them. I want my life to be like that.

I want to be expectant that every singe day can be an adventure, every day can have something new and exciting. It doesn`t mean I get disappointed if it doesn`t happen but stay focused on the fact that every day can be the best day

ever

...I am expectant that my lie is going to be AMAZING!

I am back ladies and gentlemen

first of LAME SAUCE! I have not posted in so long it is ridiculous. So much good stuff has happened I should have posted for sure. So anyway here is some deets from the past little while.

I have been in england for over a year. that in its self is crazy...with how much suckage happened with finances and other doubts that I could actually live here successfully, it is so cool to look back and see how in the midst of it al God was always there and I am so beyond happy that I trusted him because I have had an incredible time!

Who knows what is next...I have ideas but after all that has happened nothing seems exciting enough at the moment. So here is to living big

go big or go home!

too long

I have not posted anything for a really long time... so long in fact that it is kind of sad

There is lots of things that I could post about but I can't think of anything really profound at the moment.

Over the past few months I have been working at Christians Against Poverty aka CAP and it is quite amazing. We work with people in the UK who are in serious debt problems and give them free debt counselling and help them get out of debt on their ow.

We also have a money coarse that we run that I actually took myself and it has seriously changed my life! It sounds crazy but I am serious, I didn't really know how to keep track of my finances before but now that I am not broke I thought I would learn and it is flippin awesome!

Any way I thought I would give CAP a bit of credit for being awesome...and being one of the biggest reasons why I am still in england

there will be another post soon but until then cheerio darling!

In life we make decisions every minute or every day. we can decide to eat cereal or eat toast for breakfast. or whether we are going to have our hair up, down, curly, or straight. The list could go on and on. then there are other decisions that are a little harder to decide, do we listen to what our head is telling us or listen to what our heart is telling us. More times than not what are head tells us is the easy way out. But we still wrestle with the though even though we know that when we follow our heart the outcome is generally more beneficial. We can decide to let our circumstances overwhelm us and let what other people say determine which way we go or we can take the path that is a little harder to journey along. And be patient and wait. Most times when something involves waiting it takes longer because the greatness of whatever we are waiting for need to develop. This can be as crucial as the "perfect" job or a relationship or something as small as a line up at mcdonalds or at the movie theater.

The choice however is up to us, when we are standing at the cross road do we wait and follow our heart or jump in when it is convenient and miss out on incredible so we can settle for good in the moment. I want to live a life that is all about following my heart but more specifically the passions and desires that God has put in my heart.


I have spent way to much time staying focused on the waiting and not enough time just living life and enjoying what I have in the here and now. The time will come when it is time to jump in without even a second thought but for now it s time to wait and you know what...I amok with that because I know that the God that created the universe is completely, utterly, and totally in control of everything! he knew the entire layout and plan of my life before time began. I think someone like that is more than capable of taking care of my needs. he is so fippen amazing and I am so happy to have a God that is alive and cares about me :)

poop

this cupcake actually looks like poo

an angry puppy saw the cupcake and thought

"hmm I think I am going to poo on this"

straight up

i would love to be able to say that life is peachy, that i am loving just doing life. unfortunately that isn't the case at the moment. don't get me wrong i am happy and so loving the things i am getting to do in england but flip me is it tough. i love the people, my church, even the city as much as people hate on bradford. the hard part has become money and trusting. it is a constant roller coaster of being awesome and stressed to the max. and the fact that money is becoming a more and more foreign object to me.

the 26th of each month when i know i have to pay my rent is faithfully the most stressful day of the month. the first couple months were alright because of my savings but now that that has been gone for a while it is causing more and more frustration. trying to get a job has been something i have been trying to do for months now and it just isn't happening for me. that gets me even more frustrated because of the fact that i feel dumb with how long i have been job hunting. if i was hunting for food instead of a job i would be a dead hunter. i am at the point where i don't know what to do next. God knows everything that is going to happen and is in control so i should be able to just chill out, but when my bank account is in the negative it kinda makes it INSAINLY hard to trust him. hopefully the next couple days start looking up job wise but until then chocolate and my bible are my closest companions...and maybe a little jb (yes justin bieber)

tru dat

*sigh

Sometimes doing the right thing is so freaking hard.

Happy Australia Day

I meant to do this a couple days ago but
I was uber busy and kinda went
to sleep instead.

\\\HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUSTRALIA!

on January 26th it was Australia Day and being that it is such an amazing place I thought it deserved a place on an awesome blog.

//First off it is an amazing place due to the people that live in its beautiful cities. Some of my favorites are from this country and I am quite thankful for them.

//Second the world famous hillsong church is in this country. There are so many influential men and women of God that have given their lives to serve him and inspire me through their teaching and music.

//Thirdly it has recently reminded me that no matter what is going on in life be thankful. Queensland has been devastated by floods over that past little while and it has been so humbling to see how a place so beautiful has turned into a place where people have had their homes destroyed and ultimately lives changed forever. Some people have even lost loved ones all from one unexpected event. A serious reallity check to be thankful for what I have even when it feels like life can be rough. Never take it for granted.

Six Monthaversary

today marks six months of me living in the UK...England...Bradford

Where to even start oh my goodness!

I have met so many incredible people, I am truly blessed.

The opportunities I have had have blown my mind

I am still so shocked at the thought of me being here

This experience has been so mind blowing

I have learned so much about my God and myself

I wouldn't trade it for the world

it has definitely without a doubt been a challenge

but an unbelievable adventure

100th post

woohoo!!

it is my 100th post!!

to make this one of the best ever

I am going to put my favorite

-song-
-movie-
-food-
-picture-

well of the day anyway.

...


...


...

this one is such an amazing photo. I love stars they are my favorite thing in the world beside God.

I am in love with this photo

airplanes

every time I see an airplane it reminds me of how insainly amazing God is. He brought me to such an amazing place in a way only he can. today there seemed to be even more than usual, when I got home I looked out my window and I could see 6. it may seem like no big deal but i thought it was so amazing! so amazing in fact I thought I would blog about it.

i'll be there for you

For the past couple weeks I have been watching all of the seasons of friends. I have got thru seasons 1-6 and half way thru season 7. It is crazy that a show went for 10 seasons and is still as popular as it is. Usually I get really attached to the characters but all it really makes me think of is how my friends are so awesome. We didn't necessarily sit in the same coffee shop all the time but instead we hung out at Church, Starbucks, and McDonalds. Which is so much better! I can't wait until we can all be together again, go for drives listening to music, go to the beach in whiterock, and party it up! I am starting to see some similarities between some of the characters and my friends but mine are still better. So much better in fact that I live over 7 000 miles away and I still have them as my bff's i love them!

once

oh my goodness! i watched the movie once tonight and it has changed my life! such an incredible soundtrack i can't even stand it. here is some of my faves.

lets be happy

life is going to have ups and downs. sometimes things will be great and other times they will be tough. in any situation that might come along there is a choice you can let it bring you down, or you can choose to see the positive. even when it seems like there is no way things can get any better. just choose to be happy. regardless of the situation.

i so happy

today was tuesday which means it was life group day!

it was the first lifegroup since before christmas, and it was honestly the best one to date.

we all just hung out, talked about life, and played wii :)

i love the girls i get to do life with! i can't wait till our next lifegroup.

honestly i wish it was tomorrow and then again the next day.

...

it is amazing how in such a short time i can grow to care about these girls. they have such amazing hearts and beautiful faces to match. i can't wait to see all the things they are going to do this year. most likely change the world.

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps

favour and peace

There are some things in life that I have wondered about for so long. Why is it that some people have so much favor in certain areas of their life that make it seem as if they don"t ever have to worry about where their rent is coming from or ever worry about where their next meal is coming from. They have a job that they love or even if they don't love it at least it pays the bills.

I have had to learn this in a very different way the past little while. I have loved learning how God works in so many ways. He is the same God but has so many different aspects. There are times when I am slightly jealous of other people in my life and how things seem to fall into place for them. But I know that there have been so many times in my own life where things have fallen into place for me that I know as frustrating and scary as it can be to wait, it is always a million times better when it is in his timing. When I start freaking out a little I always read a verse in my favorite book.

Don't worry about anything;instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. {Phil 4:6-7}

It sucks now BUT I am so excited for when I see it all come together. I just hope the job part comes soon... or I could just find some magic beans.

new fave

I found this new font and I love it! it is classic but modern all at the same time. It is narrow like ariel narrow but still has enough curvature almost like helvetica but no serifs. it is called lane and my favorite font at the moment.

Over The Rainbow (ukulele cover)

So I have this friend and she is very talented. I think the world should see her sing because not only can she sing like an angel but she loves Jesus! Miss Emeline Viotti you are amazing!

guido

I have a little brother and yes he is a guido. Am I proud of this fact? mmm not so much do I still love him? mmm YES!!! I miss him like crazy and I wish I could hug him right this second. I have barely spent any time taking with him since I moved to England which really sucks. BUT today I finally got to see his face and catch up. Now all he has to do is come and see me and the world will be happy. It is great that even though it has been so long since we have seen each other I still know everything because that is how family works. No matter what happens they are always there for you. Even when you are at your worst and don't think you need people or feel that they have let you down they are there.

Little Brother, you know how much you mean to me. Even though I am an ocean away I still know everything that goes on in your head because I love you more than anything :p I am always here for you, don't ever forget that little man.

you so wish your brother was as cool as mine!

Toilet!

yayaya!!! today my toilet seat was finally fixed! it was completely broken so anytime I sat down the seat would slide around. So now it is fixed and it makes me happy!!

booooooots

It was recently brought to my attention that apperently my boots look like the boots in shrek.

I don't see it but they are still awesome.But really dirty.

that didn't make me smile

Today I had to say goodbye to my dad at the train station and it was definitely not a fun thing at all. He came to visit before he went back to Canada, and he was here for almost exactly 24 hours which was not nearly enough time to make up for the 5 1/2 months of not being able to see him. Thoughts of going back to canada were in my mind at that moment for sure. Goodbyes hold a very firm position in my top 5 least favorite things in the world along with clowns and human trafficking. There have been some instances where I use the saying "small world" today that was the last thing that i was feeling. When I said goodbye to my dad it felt like the world couldn't be bigger. The most confusing part is I love it in England so much that regardless of where I am living I am going to miss someone or something. It is the strangest feeling when I am so conflicted about where I want to be. If it wasn't for God I am pretty sure I would be a complete at total wreck but thankfully he is always there so I always have a best friend with me.

summed up.

home

i miss Canada.

Cake Faces continued

Woot Birthday

birthday goodness yes I got cake in my face

2 decades check

Happy Birthday to me!

today is my birthday! meaning two decades ago I was born, at Burnaby Memorial Hospital on 13750 96th Ave Surrey, BC V3V 1Z2, Canada in maternity ward room 2.

So far life has been amazing! I have done so much and been able to see so much, I can't wait for the next 20 years and see all that life has to offer. Most importantly all that God has planned.

I want to thank every single person who is in my life and for all that you have done or me. I have been so encouraged and inspired by all of you. I miss you bunches.

love you xx

Canucklehead

I am a Cancklehead! and proud of it, I miss watching hockey SO BAD.

Playradioplay Mr.Brightside

I have been looking for this song for almost a year and I finally found it! I am so freaking stoked :D

V-J Day in Times Square

I love this photo!

it is one of my favorite ever, not just because of the spontaneity of it or the fact that the people are unknown or even that it is ridiculously romantic. It is all of that and more. This photo was taken on August 14, 1945 when the end of world war 2 was announced.

A photographer named Alfred Eisenstaedt, Like many others he was in times square celebrating the end of the war. Eisenstaedt made two accounts of the kiss in his books, He said that he was running around when he saw a sailor going thru the crowds kissing every girl in sight. He had his back turned when he saw a flash of white he turned around and took 4 pictures to capture what he saw.

The picture was first published in LIFE magazine a week later.

The question that has always bothered me has been the identity of the kissers. 11 men and 3 women have claimed to be the people in the photo. There has been some pretty intense tests done to try to see who it really is but personally I think that as great as it would be knowing it is even better not knowing. One guy who claims that it as him even identified his wife in the background. Another guy says that his birthmark and tattoos match but come on I could say I knew justin bieber doesn't mean it is true, and tattoo dude I don't see any tattoos and your "birthmark" could have been dirt for all I know. its a black and white photo.

Anyway the beauty of this photo is the pure shock of the women, people can doubt the fact of the spontaneity of the picture but number one the photographer has proof...the original film.
I mean look at the way she is standing, someone expecting a kiss does not react like that.

This photo is pure beauty.

flip I love it

There is no world without Verona walls...
Heaven is here, where Juliet lives.

Shakespeare

mr.postman

I love getting mail! Especially mail from Canadian friends

cop fail

haha fail.

friendships

miss you guys.

First Love

I love my church! This song was written by Jock James one of the most passionate worship leaders I have ever seen. Never forget your first love, God chose you for a specific reason. He has a plan and purpose for your life, he just wants to love you. He can never love you more or love you less. God is love.

its not about us

Seriously God is so incredible. Today I was a little bummed out and Matthew 17:20 came to mind. No matter what situation or mountain is in your way God is so much bigger than anything. We don't have to fight and fight to work through it, we just have to give it to God. God said "Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”It is not about us fixing the problem it is about us giving God control and having faith that he can do it. The God that created the universe and every fiber of your being has your world in his hands. Even when it can be tough we just have to let go and have the smallest amount of faith and daddy God will take it from there. I am so thankful to have a God that cares. A God that is alive today and will always be there, he will never leave and never let me down. The God that never fails is My God.